Special Operations Command

The U.S. Special Operations Command is required to assume responsibility for a variety of missions associated with special operations forces, including intelligence activities. This report looks at the status of agreements between the Command and other Defense Department organizations. GAO discusses whether (1) the Command has completed its agreements, (2) the parties involved in these agreements are satisfied with the agreement conditions or are seeking to amend them, and (3) the terms of the agreements are being properly carried out.

GAO found that: (1) as of December 1991, the Command had completed 26 of the 37 agreements considered essential to carrying out the intent of its authorizing legislation; (2) as of March 1990, 4 of the remaining 11 agreements were incomplete because of differences of opinion between the Command and other DOD organizations concerning responsibilities, mutual satisfaction with arrangements employed in the absence of a formal agreement, or requirements to complete other agreements first; (3) the remaining seven agreements are incomplete generally because of later preparation and lower priority, but some have been delayed by differences of opinion about the agreements' terms; and (4) various DOD organizations were generally satisfied with the agreements' conditions and were not seeking revisions, but officials in the Command and other DOD organizations said additional agreements might be needed in the future.